Whole, Once More
by Heart-of-the-Phoenix
Summary: Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III within. Bits of the ending will be referenced within. -*-*-*- After the end of the Second Keyblade War, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua have returned home once more. One night, woken from a nightmare, Ventus is advised by a new, yet old, friend on how to find his inner peace. One-shot.


Ventus awoke with a start, his eyes wide with a sudden surge of fear before attempting to calm himself down. As logic and reason returned, he realised with a sigh of relief that he was still in his room within the Land of Departure. The Second Keyblade War was no more. Xehanort, the man behind so much suffering, had surrendered the χ-blade, and at long last was defeated. So why was he still so unnerved?

Shaking off the rush of emotion, Ventus pushed himself to his feet with a quiet sigh. He should be relieved, at peace, now that this conflict had been resolved. Although his Master, too, was gone, his friends were at least safe. Not only were they safe, but he had even remade an old friendship. Try as he might, Ventus was unable to recall the details around his knowledge of the little spirit. Deep down, however - he knew this Chirithy to be an old friend, the very moment he saw it peering around the stone base of the wall outside.

As he strode down the winding halls of his home, the young Keyblade wielder couldn't help but crack a slight smile. Speaking of the little spirit, he saw his new friend reaching for a nearby window sill, trying to climb up. Letting out a quiet chuckle, he glanced towards the small being as he started over. "Need a hand?"

"Oh!" Chirithy exclaimed in surprise, whipping around to face the approaching Keyblade wielder. Relief flooded the little spirit's features as it recognised the newcomer. "Oh, hello, Ventus! What are you doing up at this time of night?"

"Eh, odd nightmare, I think." Tilting his head slightly, he noticed Chirithy take a step back, causing the boy to frown a bit in surprise. Had he said something wrong? Before he could ask, however, the spirit's reaction was gone. Perhaps he had just imagined the sudden shift? He wouldn't put it past hismelf, this late at night. "What about you?"

It was the Chirithy's turn to tilts its head in surprise. "I..." Breaking off, the spirit shook its head. "No, I don't exactly sleep as humans do. We spirits are kinda different in that way."

"Oh! So, you decided to stargaze to pass the time?" Ventus questioned, curious. He felt like he should've known that about the spirit, but he just couldn't place it. "Come on! I know a better place than this window to watch the stars if you like!" 

* * *

A nice, chilly breeze carried itself throughout the night air. Ventus always enjoyed nights like these, a feeling that stood all the more prominent after his decade long sleep. To him, the breeze represented freedom. Simply imagining the various sights the breeze might've seen, were it sentient, always helped to relax him when he was unnerved. It was a refreshing thought.

After several minutes of walking, Ventus and Chirithy found themselves atop one of the smaller peaks surrounding the castle. This summit was his favourite - it had a great view of the stars, and more importantly, it was both the place where he and his friends had first made their promise to be there for one another, as well it was the resting place of his former Master's Keyblade. It wasn't much, but Ventus couldn't help but feel closer to Eraqus here.

"Oh!" Chirithy's eyes widened in recognition. Ventus let out a slight chuckle. He wondered if the little spirit would recognise it. "This was where you spotted me originally!"

"Yep!" Ventus started to the low hanging wall resting in spots around the outer edge of the summit. Stretching slightly, the young Keyblade wielder sat down on the soft grass before laying back - his gaze wandering to the skies. "Funny enough, I always used to come here, anytime I wanted to just relax. It's... a calming place."

Chirithy wandered its way over to the prone figure, sitting beside Ventus with a quiet laugh of its own. "It does have a nice view of the stars here, for sure!" The little spirit suddenly fell silent, as if it wanted to say something but was debating about whether or not it should. Before Ventus could ask about the sudden silence, Chirithy spoke up again. "So, what was that nightmare about? Maybe I could help?"

With a sigh, Ventus closed his eyes. Maybe it could be good to get it off his chest if nothing else. "Do you remember how I told you about the War, and about that one masked boy, Vanitas?"

Chirithy fell silent for a moment before responding. When it did, its tone sounded almost unnerved. "Yes?"

"You see, that masked boy was me. At least, he was a part of me. Xehanort, he once extracted all of my Darkness. In a rush to form the χ-blade, he tried to do it with a single heart of Light and a single heart of Darkness.

"As you can probably guess with the Second Keyblade War, that didn't work as he wanted it to. But it left its mark on me. For a while, I lost my way, and it was only due to a boy named Sora that my heart found shelter. Vanitas, however, he was still around. He became one of Xehanort's Seekers of Darkness.

"When we defeated Vanitas, he faded into Darkness and was destroyed. I just can't help but feel like something is missing, though - it's like a part of my heart was shattered. For all the harm he's done, he was still a part of me, and it was a part of me that faded away."

With a quiet sigh, Ventus let his eyes drift opening, mentally tracing some of the constellations dotting the night sky as he continued. "Ever since that day, I've seen things that don't make sense. It's like, I'm seeing things through my 'brother's' eyes. And these things, the feelings that the nightmares bring, it's... Well, it's terrifying."

Silence filled the air around the two beings for a few moments before Chirithy spoke up, its tone reassuring. "I don't think Vanitas faded away, not entirely. It sounds to me like his heart has joined yours once more. I think when he was defeated, your heart overcame his, and the two hearts joined as one to repair the wound inflicted upon it all those years ago."

That made sense. He couldn't recall where he had heard it, but Ventus recalled a voice telling him that a heart was never lost. In time, the hearts always sought to repair what was lost. Still, though. "I just wish he could've had a chance, you know? Neither of us asked to be separated and split away like that. I just wish he could've been his own person, free of Xehanort's influence to live his life out. Perhaps we might've even been friends, in a better life."

"Maybe..." Chirithy didn't sound too certain, but Ventus did appreciate that the little spirit was trying. "Regardless, Vanitas is with you. If your heart has repaired itself then he is you once more. Light and Dark are meant to exist in a balance, and he will always be there in your shadow.

"My advice is to listen to your heart. Accept the memories and emotions. Accept them, and let them go, don't dwell on them. They are your memories, your life - just another part of it. Whoever you were then, whoever he was then; that doesn't matter. You, Ventus, are the person you are now. You're the person you choose to be. You are free."

Chirithy was right, he knew. Ventus couldn't help but feel the doubts still crawling their way through his mind, but the spirits words did help. Everything would be alright. Smiling slightly, he tilted his head to the side to glance at his new friend. "Thank you. I think I needed that." 

* * *

Darkness. That's all there was. He had no sight, nor any senses that he knew of. He had thought this feeling would terrifying him, sparking a wave of fear, terror, anger, and anguish. Surprisingly, he felt none of that. No negative emotion took his mind as the Darkness around him grew and melded with the Light around him.

No, he didn't suppose it should. After all these years, he had accomplished the single thing he longed for. At long last, he was whole, his heart was complete. There were no more wounds, no more shattered fragments. Tears sealed as the heart was born anew. He finally knew peace. 

* * *

Hours had passed since Ventus and Chirithy found themselves resting atop the summit, watching the stars. As the stars faded from view, so too had Ventus faded back into the grasp of sleep once more. The little spirit couldn't help but quietly chuckle to the faint snores emanating from the young Keyblade wielder. It was so similar to the days of old, and that thought alone made Chirithy smile.

Even if Ventus could not remember, Chirithy didn't mind. What mattered was he was safe, he was happy. If Chirithy had to be considered simply as a new friend, if memories would have to be made anew, it was content with this. They would make do, the little spirit knew it.


End file.
